Shana Forster is the new director of North Dakota State University’s North Central Research Extension Center (NCREC) near Minot.

She has been the NDSU Extension Service’s area cropping systems specialist at the center since January 2013. Prior to that, she was the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (NDAES) assistant pulse crop breeder at the center for four years.

""We are very pleased that Shana Forster has accepted the role as director of the North Central Research Extension Center,” says Ken Grafton, NDSU’s vice president for Agricultural Affairs, director of the NDAES and dean of the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources.

“Shana’s experiences in research and Extension, along with her near completion of her Ph.D. degree in crop production, will suit her well in ensuring that the center meets the research and educational needs of the north-central region of the state,” he adds.

Forster earned a bachelor of science degree in Crop and Weed Sciences in 2000 and a master’s degree in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 2002, both from NDSU. Her Ph.D. will be in Plant Sciences, also from NDSU.

Before joining NDSU, she was a biological science laboratory technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Fargo from 2003 to 2008.

“I am honored to serve the NCREC in this new leadership role,” Forster says. “I look forward to the challenges ahead and the impact we will continue to make as a team.”

NDSU Agriculture Communication - April 15, 2016